Man accused of sedating, raping 14 women: German prosecutors

BERLIN – A 68-year-old Berlin man has been charged with sedating and raping 14 women whom he had met on dating apps and filming the assaults, German prosecutors said on July 14.

None of the victims had any recollection of the alleged acts, which were uncovered when police raided the suspect’s apartment and seized data sticks containing “numerous videos of sexual offences”, they said.

“The accused is alleged to have sedated the women with sleeping pills in combination with alcohol and then raped them,” the Berlin prosecutors’ office said in a statement.

“He is said to have met the women beforehand via online dating platforms.”

A total of 58 women have been identified in relation to the man’s alleged crimes, and the charges brought so far relate to 22 instances of rape against 14 women, the prosecutors said.

The authorities were tipped off about the case by police in Lower Saxony state who were investigating similar crimes committed by another man.

This individual had been communicating with the suspect in Berlin.

Police in Berlin raided the suspect’s apartment for the first time in March 2025, when they uncovered the videos of alleged assaults.

Following a second search in March 2026, the accused was arrested and has been in pre-trial detention since, they said.

He is accused of 22 counts of aggravated rape as well as causing dangerous bodily harm.

Investigations related to the other potential victims are ongoing, prosecutors said.

But 36 suspected cases of rape between 2010 and 2014 involving one woman were dropped as it was too late to pursue them, prosecutors said. AFP